YimbyOrlando

Members from Affording Housing advocacy group Orlando YIMBY will be present at this Meet and Greet! Looking forward to chatting with other members of this board about Biking Advocacy in Orlando.

Thanks for the update Ken, awesome pictures! I agree some some cool new retail combined with all the new residential would really liven the side of downtown up. Hoping this area synergizes with UCF Downtown and the new EA headquarters to create a vibrant neighborhood around Lynx Central.

So This is under construction finally?

Osceloa's tax referendum was actually on the ballot during the May primary in 2019 and had no real plan behind it, almost like they wanted it to fail. Hillsborough passed their sales tax in 2018 with 57% and they are more conservative than Orange county. I think the biggest issue is whether tourism demand returns by 2022; voters will probably be less inclined to increase taxes if the economy is not doing well, especially since low income theme park workers are the largest group of transit riders in the area.

Saw this crane up today, glad this is finally happening! Hopefully all these new apartments bring more food retail in this area. The fast casual options are very lacking downtown, I usually just end up going to Publix for a subway if I'm downtown and want something fast.

Couldn't agree more! I for one would like parking minimums to go away and let developers build as much parking as demand warrants, as well as charging market rate for Parking, but before any politician promotes such progressive parking policy, we need high quality transit for people to commute into downtown without driving. Portland, Minneapolis, and Seattle all have frequent light rail to travel into their Downtown's. Infrequent weekday only commuter rail won't cut it. I also would like Magnolia and Orange to be reduced from 3 to 2 lanes, which would make downtown much more pedestrian friendly as well.

Ah yes I was thinking of Zoi house, thanks! Hopefully X-Orlando gets started soon that site is way too valuable to be undeveloped for so long!

Hope this plot secures a buyer and a new project, nothing makes me happier than seeing surface parking lots being redeveloped.

I'm happy there will be more bikes, sometime's I have to walk over half a mile searching for a bike, or there will only be one when I try to go for rides with my GF, more bikes equals more bike riders which is always a good thing!

I'm not sure how long the Dwell time is added by each additional stop but I will time it next time I ride, 90 seconds is my guess. I agree LYMMO would be preferred and that the North/South Orange LYMMO line is pretty much useless because it is such a short distance, while the East/West GrapeFruit line is longer and gets much better ridership, although with UCF Downtown opening there could be an influx of students who ride the free downtown shuttle. I guess the difference of opinion is because I want SunRail to be frequent Urban rail, not suburban commuter rail which it obvious is. Maybe in the future Orlando could purchase different rail stock and run a shorter and more frequent shuttle service within Orange County. I just think with the high capital costs associated with Sunrail we need to utilize these assets as much as possible or it'll be an inefficient use of funds.

Awesome this got underway so quick, what do y'all think will be next to break ground, Golden Sparrow, Project X, or Magnolia Hotel? Hope I got the names right for the potential projects.

Now they just need to finish Gertrude's Walk thru Downtown or add bike lanes on Orange, excited to use this finally!

Yeah but the area has so much growth I say it merits an additional station. The Amtrak one is too far from Sodo to be walkable and only one LYNX route along Orange stops at the Sunrail station. I would say they should either launch a LYMMO route from Downtown to Sodo that stops at the Sunrail station and hospital or add another infill stop to connect the fasting growing area. Maybe not at Michigan but the roads south of Michigan, Illiana or PineLoch also would be good candidates. A national renowned transit figure was discussing Sunrail on twitter a few years ago and also commented on the lack of stations in between Amtrak and SandLake. Another station along Oakridge in Pine Castle was their recommendation.

That's assuming people would only take Sunrail to Downtown, but also considering how slow buses are during peak periods because of overcrowding and congestion it would likely be faster to wait for Sunrail, Not to mention there's a social stigma against buses that doesn't exist for trains.

Holden would be a good spot too, I just think about the walkability of locations and there's not much down at Holden worth walking too. The ORMC location is too far to be walkable for Sodo residents and only one of the 4 LYNX routes along Orange Ave stops at the Sunrail station. If They ever extend a LYMMO route to SoDo like they're studying, a stop at the Sunrail station would also do a good job connecting this area of high growth to our only current regional transit.